Tight Goes Right

I’ve heard a lot of examples of how tightly, or softly, we should hold onto the golf club. And, I’ve probably used nearly one hundred examples myself trying to get my students to let the club work instead of us working the club.

Hold the club like a bird, a ripe banana, your girlfriend’s hand. Well, this is all great in theory but when you’re trying to inflict as much damage as possible on the golf ball we have all killed a lot of birds, squished a lot of bananas, and broken our girlfriend’s hand many, many times.

Let’s make this simple. It’s easy to have soft hands at address, when the club is resting on the ground and we have yet to begin the assault on the ball. We might even have a soft grip from the ball to the top of the back swing. But, when we get to the top of the backswing everything seems to change. It’s at this point the “genetic creator of bad golf shots”, the kill gene, kicks in. Our total focus is punishing the ball as severely as we possibly can.

It’s at this point, the top of the backswing, when we should be holding the club like a bird, banana, our girlfriend’s hand. This one item can do great things for your golf game. But, it takes a lot of concentration and discipline. And, it’s worth it!!

Go to the practice tee and start with a short club. Make some practice swings while thinking about softening your grip pressure as you start the downswing. It won’t take long before you feel the difference and see the difference. The resulting shot will be longer and straighter using much less effort than your old swing.

How do you know if you’re doing it right? You should feel a more effortless swing, and the ball should stop going right so much. Remember, TIGHT GOES RIGHT! At least for a right hander…

Give this a try – it works. A little practice on softening your grip pressure will payoff big time on your scorecard! Here’s to soft hands in 2011!

Kim Anders is Director of Golf at Estrella del Mar Golf & Beach Resort in Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico. You can reach Kim via email at Kanders@estrelladelmar.com or call 1.888.587.0609, Ext. 3010. Find out more about the golf resort by visiting www.estrelladelmar.com.